Thsll-coupling



(No Model.)

H. J. ILES.

THILL GOUPLING. No. 338,970. Patented Mar. 30, 1886.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY J. ILES, OF SEYMOUR, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN MCENERNEY, OF DERBY,

CONNECTICUT.

THiLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 338,970, dated March 30, 1886.

4 Application tiled February $23, 1886. Serial No. 192,775. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. ILEs, of Seymour, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Thill-Couplings; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specitcation, and represent, in-

Figure l, a side View complete, part broken away to show the shoe; Fig. 2, an under side view looking up; Fig. 3, a perspective view of the plate and rack detached.

This invention relates to an improvement in thill-coupling attachments, and particularly to a device to prevent the shaft-eye from rattling on the shackle-bolt; and it consists in the construction, as hereinafter described, and particularly recited in thc claims.

A represents the axle; B, the coupling clip; C, the clip-bar, the said clip secured to the axle by nuts D D below the bar C. From one side of the clip B ears E E extend outward,between which the shaft-eye F is secured by the bolt G, the said shaft-eye arranged to leave a space between it and the clip for the introduction of an anti-rattling device, all of which is a common and well-known construe` tion. Below and parallel to the bar C is a plate, H, held in position by the nuts D D, constructed from sheet metal, with transverse recesses a a, land with an opening, b, between them, one end extending forward under the opening between the clip and shaft-eye to form a bearing or fulcrum, d, for the spring.

I is atoothed rack, adapted to pass through the opening b in the plate H, and constructed with trunnions adapted to set into the recesses a a and swing therein when the plate H is secured to the clip-bar.

J is a spring of substantially L shape. One end extends upward through the space between the clip and the shaft-eye, and takes a bearing upon the eye. Below the bearing d it extends rearward and nearly parallel to the bar C, and is constructed with an opening, e, through which the rack I may pass. Either of the notches in the rack may be engaged with and so as to hold the spring against the eye with any desirable degree of pressure, as

indicated in broken lines, Fig. 1. The said spring extends beyond the opening e,to form a finger-piece by which the spring may be adjusted.

To prevent the wear upon the end of the spring which bears against the shaft-eye, I introduce a shoe, K, the inside surface of which corresponds to the shape of the shafteye, and constructed with lugs upon its back to engage the spring. t

To remove the spring, it is only necessary to raise the tail until it disengages the rack, and the spring is fre-e. Then the spring becomes loose either from loss of elasticity or wear, it is easily tightened by raising the tail until it engages the next notch in the rack.

The shoe K may be omitted and the spring allowed to bear directly upon the shafteye.

This device is simple, and can be readily attached to the common construction of thillcouplings.

I am aware that metal springs have been introduced into thill-couplings to bear against the shaft-eye, and do not therefore wish to be understood as broadly claiming such as my invention.

IVhat I do claim isl. In a thill-coupling substantially such as described, the combination therewith of the spring J, one end arranged to bear against the shaft-eye, the other extending beneath the clip, with a fulcrum between the two ends, and a toothed rack hinged to the clip, the teeth of the rack adapted to engage said spring, substantially as described.

2. In a thill-coupling substantially such as described, the combination therewith of the spring J, one end arranged to bear against the shaft-eye, the other extending beneath the clip, the plate H, secured to the clip-bar and extending forward to form a fulcrum for the spring, the said plate constructed with transverse recesses, and the toothed rack I, constructed with trunnions resting in said recesses, the teeth of said rack arranged to adjustably engage said spring, substantially as described.

HENRY J. ILES.

Witnesses: 

